A hydraulic connector hose is a tube that transfers fluids under pressure from one place to another. A hydraulic hose is a composite structure primarily made of rubber or thermoplastic and steel reinforcement. The steel reinforcement may include wire that is tightly wound spirally along the length of the hose so as to form a steel shell or it might be braided across the length of the hose for higher strength. The outermost covering is usually made of polymer material that helps protect the inner layers from harsh environments. Hydraulic hoses operate from a very low pressure to extremely high pressure depending on the applications. Hydraulic hoses are used in a variety of industries like heavy-machinery, household appliances etc and environments. In certain situations, especially in heavy machinery, the health of a hose is critical.
A hydraulic hose has a finite service life and all hoses eventually fail due to various factors like external damage, multi-plane bending, operating conditions, etc. The damage to a hose carrying such high pressures can lead to serious injury or death of an operator. Hence, monitoring the health of the hose becomes critical.
Hydraulic power systems are extensively used in many applications. The hydraulic hose is the “artery” that keeps equipment running. Consequences of hose failure are serious. It not only causes equipment downtime, but also environmental and safety issues. Current maintenance schemes are mainly based on preventive or Fail-and-Fix (FAF). A higher level of maintenance, Predict-and-Prevent (PAP) is needed to achieve near-zero down time maintenance, which in turn will increase productivity and safety.